From offices in Boise, Post Falls, Twin Falls, and Pocatello, TechHelp Specialists help Idaho manufacturers, food processors and entrepreneurs improve their competitiveness through continuous product and process innovation.

Leadership & Technical Training Lean Manufacturing Lean Six Sigma Lean Transformation Operational Excellence Operations Leadership Product & Process Cost Savings Product & Process Development Quality Management Systems

Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt Certification Course Begins January 17 at Idaho Manufacturing Alliance HQ in Nampa

TechHelp and the Idaho Manufacturing Alliance will offer a Public Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Course (LSSGB) at IMA’s HQ in Nampa with full-day sessions on 1/17, 1/31, 2/14, and 3/6 of 2024. Lean Six Sigma is a well-known approach for achieving operational excellence that combines the process improvement benefits of Lean with the statistical process control benefits of Six Sigma. The course includes time between sessions for participants to complete workplace projects.
There has never been a better time to apply the principles of Lean Six Sigma in your organization. With today’s tight labor market and supply chain challenges, Lean can help your company become a more attractive employer and a stronger competitor. Luke Fuess and Janna Hamlett of TechHelp, the University of Idaho, and the legendary Lean practitioner Gene Hamacher will lead the course and provide LSSGB project support.

Food Manufacturing Product & Process Development

Dr. Janna Hamlett Article in Food Safety Magazine on The Value of Mistake Proofing

People make mistakes—more often than we might like to think. Studies have shown that no matter how well-trained a worker is, or how well-maintained the equipment is, errors still occur. Tasks are forgotten, and equipment breaks. Standard work and “one right way” can help reduce errors.

Mistake proofing, also known by its Japanese equivalent, “poka-yoke,” is a method used to reduce or eliminate errors, or to make those errors immediately obvious. Ensuring that non-conforming product is never created—or at least never arrives at customers’ doorsteps—is invaluable in the food industry. Reduced downgrade, less rework, and decreased out-of-specification product are all benefits of mistake proofing.

Food Manufacturing Lean Six Sigma Lean Transformation Manufacturing in General Product & Process Cost Savings Product & Process Development

Janna Hamlett Explores “TIM WOODS” Waste Factors in FoodSafety Magazine Article

If you look around, you may find many examples of ‘TIM WOODS’ in a food processing facility. TIM WOODS is an acronym for the ‘eight wastes’ that can plague a processing facility. In lean manufacturing, waste is any cost, effort, or material that is used in a processing facility that does not directly lead to a completed unit.

Food Manufacturing Manufacturing in General Operational Excellence Product & Process Cost Savings Product & Process Development

Recording of TechHelp’s Webinar on the Uses and Benefits of Collaborative Robots (Cobots) in Manufacturing Facilities – Jan 27

Is your manufacturing facility undergoing a workforce shortage? Attracting, hiring, and keeping workers is one of today’s key workforce challenges. In this webinar, we explored how collaborative robots (also called cobots) can help. Our speakers, Ryan Okelberry (House of Design) and Al Youngwerth (Versabuilt) are local legends in the robotics industry who shared their experiences and answered questions.